Orientation

to Micro-teaching


Date and Time: Friday, January 12, 2018
2:00 – 2:45 PM

Location: Rotunda


Faculty: Jean Klig, MD

Goals:

1. To introduce the goals of micro-teaching.
2. To discuss the micro-teaching process and format for the three hour session.
3. To consider the teaching principles that we use and how we use them.

Preparation:

Please review the “Preparation for Microteaching” attachment. Be prepared to describe one of
your own principles that you use while teaching (see attachment for examples).




 PREPARATION FOR MICRO-TEACHING

Overview:
The micro-teaching sessions provide an opportunity for each Scholar to present a
7-10 minute teaching segment to a small consultant group of peer Scholars, and to
participate in that consultation group seeking to offer helpful feedback on the teaching
segment . Each of the 7-10 minute teaching segments will be video-recorded on a smart
phone (hopefully your own), and you will have a chance to immediately view your video
as part of the session. The microteaching groups will have a session in both January and
May so that new teaching actions can be planned between our two course meeting times .

Preparation:
Please plan your short teaching segment before the session. The purpose of the micro-
teaching sessions is to support your p e r s o n a l learning about your own teaching
repertoire and that of others. Please also take time to consider what would be most helpful for
you to gain from the session and your colleagues who will act as your consultants. We
encourage you to view the exercise as an opportunity to run a brief experiment in teaching with
colleagues you trust who will offer constructive insights.

Roles during the session:

Educator/Teacher for the “micro-teaching”:
Prepares and delivers a micro-teaching segment and some short guidelines for your
consultant observers called a prebrief ( described below). The actual segment that you teach may
represent the beginning, middle, or end of a larger session, or a stand-alone piece of teaching in
the healthcare professions.

• Micro-teaching segment “design” decisions
o Teaching principle(s) – Decide what principle(s) guide your teaching in the
segment you have chosen to teach. Examples are: "learning is maximized
when the ideas/questions/talk are generated more by the students than the
teachers;" or "learning is maximized when the student's attention is keenest,
and it is keenest when they are constantly at risk of being put on the spot ".
o Subject – Select any topic related to the healthcare professions domain.
o New versus familiar – You may select a piece of teaching that you have done
before or new teaching that you would like to develop.
o Context – You may select any context that is most helpful to explore.
Examples are:
• A didactic session
• An on-the-fly clinical teaching moment
• A small group interactive session
• An important “elevator talk”.
o Students (or audience) – Will be played by your small-group colleagues
based on your instructions.

• “Pre-brief” information presented before you start teaching :
o Describe the target audience for this teaching segment, so that your
 consultant group knows what student role they are to take on. In
addition, describe the setting and the context in which this teaching
segment would occur.
o Include 1-3 questions that you would like for the consultant group to
use in guiding their feedback. These questions may include reflections
you have already had on your teaching ( i.e. you know that you
sometimes use only closed questions, or you fail to recognize that your
voice needs to be modulated , body language issues, etc.)
o Remember to explicitly state what principle(s) about teaching
and/or learning you use to guide your teaching in this segment.
Please note that even the most innovative format – if unconnected to
the teacher's ideas about teaching and learning - will take on a
different shape than a principle-driven session.

Consultation Team:
Listens to the “pre-brief” and serves as the students/audience for the micro-teach segment,
then discusses and provides feedback based on the Educator/Teachers questions and
observations. One member of the group will serve as the consultation team leader for each
iteration of micro-teaching , and the role will rotate for each new micro-teaching segment .

• General consultation team information:
o You will participate as a consultant during the micro-teaching segments by
other Scholars in your group. This offers an opportunity to consider what
types of interactive solo and group feedback you provide at your home
institution, and what you might want to experience, refine, or modify in your
feedback practices.

o The consultant team members will embrace the guiding principle/s of the
Educator/Teacher, and consider the teaching within this context. Align your
feedback as a consultant with the Educator/Teacher’s views on connections
between his/her goals, principles, and teaching practice in the 7-10 minute
micro-teaching segment.

o Each member of the consultant team should carefully observe and take notes
during the “pre-brief” and micro-teach segment to share specific feedback (as
student and/or peer consultant) during the consultation. Remember to also keep
eye contact with the Educator/Teacher while taking notes. When reviewing your
notes, consider your assumptions – how do these affect your interpretation of
the micro-teaching?

• Consultation team leader:

o This role includes
• Note the principle/s and questions posed by the
Educator/Teacher in the “pre-brief”.
• Take notes on input from the consultation team after the micro-
teach session.
 • Serve as moderator for the feedback discussion in the
consultation conference. Remember to allow for: 1) a balance of
feedback on the Teacher/Educators questions, 2) input from
different members of the group, 3) an opportunity for the
Educator/Teacher to also offer feedback to the consultation
team.

o As consultation team leader it is important to consider the impact of
feedback for the Educator/Teacher so that it is helpful, relevant, and
provides a basis for him/her to reflect further on the teaching segment.
To do so, it will help to focus on questions from the pre- brief and to
highlight what will be most helpful and positive for the Educator/Teacher
to consider for the future.

The accompanying flow chart shows the process of micro-teaching for each Scholar.
We look forward to participating with you in this very fast-paced, and usually highly-
rewarding, learning format.

Elizabeth G. Armstrong, Ph.D.
Jean E. Klig, M.D.
Harvard Macy Institute